Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Saab 2000 AEW & C Detailed

The above eight attachments detail the capabilities of the Saab 2000 AEW & C platform. The first such platform will become operational with the Pakistan Air Force in late 2009, followed by three more in 2010. All four ex-Air France Saab 2000s will be refurbished prior to being converted into AEW & C platforms. Also to be delivered are up to six ground receiving stations. Saab will provide an integrated logistics system (ILS) for these four aircraft for a 35-year period.--Prasun K. Sengupta

To Anon@9.14AM: Well, the Sino-India border is a long one and straddles the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges. So where exactly these so-called 'tunnels' are located is anyone's guess. But one thing is sure: those Agni IRBMs meant for deployment against targets inside China are road-mobile. About 12 such IRBMs have been deployed, while six Agni-12s are deployed to strike targets inside Pakistan.

To Anon@9.15AM: The PHALCON is much superior to the Saab 2000 AEW & C, but the Airavat as of now does not exist and it is not yet known if the R & D effort will be successful. Therefore it will not be wise to compare the Airavat with the Saab 2000 AEW & C for the time-being. Also, as the IAF wants to acquire a follow-on three PHALCONs I don't see from where the IAF will find the money for the Airavat over the next five years.

I too mean the DRDO AEW & CS platform when I was referring to the Airavat. You're right also on the Agni-1. It is not Agni-12, but Agni-1. As far as thremonuclear capabilities go, the DAE claimed in May 1998 that it had tested one such warhead, although scientific opinion is divided over whether or not this test was successful.

Any credible AEW & C platform has got to be bulky, be it the IL-76 or B.707 or B.767 as these platforms have to remain airborne for more than eight hours without aerial refuelling and up to 12 hours with refuelling. For such durations you also need to have on board at least three sets of mission crews/aircrews and therefore there must be adequate internal cabin volume and rest areas for accommodating such crews.

Few clarifications needed.1. How many T/R modules the Erieye radar has and what's the max power output each module and entire radar ?2.I understood that Erieye has a coverage blackspot about 60' in the Nose and Rear due to AESA antena orientation can you clarify this ?3. What are the major differenciators for Phalcons against Erieye ...in terms of Range,Identification of Small RCS target and strong anti-jamming measures ?

To Sontu: I'm attaching below some more information on the Saab 2000 AEW & C system.

The PAF’s Saab 2000 AEW & C programme got underway in June 2006 when Islamabad finalised the purchase of five platforms. This contract was revised in May 2007 when the PAF decided to acquire only four AEW & C platforms, with the remaining three Saab 2000s being cannibalised for spares. The Saab 2000 is one of the fastest regional turboprop aircraft in existence, being able to cruise at a speed of more than 665kph (360 Knots). It made its maiden flight on March 26, 1992 and entered commercial airline service in 1994, a few months after its certification by the Joint Aviation Authorities in March and the Federal Aviation Administration in April. The Saab 2000’s powerplant comprises twin Rolls-Royce AE-2100 turboprop engines, each driving six-bladed Dowty Rotol propellers. The aircraft’s service ceiling is 31,000 feet, and the cockpit is equipped with a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics suite with integrated avionics processor, engine indication and crew alerting system, traffic alert and collision avoidance system, attitude heading and reference system, and a digital air data system. Cabin noise is reduced by an active noise control system comprising 72 microphones and 36 speakers, which generate anti-phase noise. Each of the PAF’s four Saab 2000 AEW & C platforms will be equipped with the FSR-890 Erieye radar built by Ericsson Microwave Systems. The S-band Erieye is a pulse-Doppler active phased-array radar operating within the 2GHz to 4GHz bandwidth. The 8 metre-long, 900kg antenna will be mounted on the upper dorsal spine of the Saab 2000’s fuselage. The radar’s dorsal unit (DU) will include the carbon-fibre radome, antenna array, RF distribution network, and 192 transmit/receive modules that will be cooled by ram-air. Each such module will comprise a power amplifier for the transmitted microwave signal, low-noise amplifiers as front-ends for the receiver channels, and phase shifters for accurate control of the signal phase in both transmit and receive modes. In the latter, amplification of the signal will be controlled as well. The phases and amplitudes will be continuously calibrated. Each T/R module will be connected to one vertical slotted waveguide on each side. An electronic switch in the module will select the side. By feeding the slotted waveguide separately in the upper and lower half, the beam will be shifted in elevation for height measurement. This shifting will be conducted by single-step phase shifters in the front-ends of the modules. A module-control databus will provide control of the modules to achieve instantaneous antenna beam-steering and the very low sidelobes required. A receiver/exciter processor will generate the pulsed microwave signals and send them to the antenna. It will also accept the received signals from the DU and generate both digitised video signals for signals processing as well as data signals for steering the beam. The transmit drive signal will be generated by a frequency synthesizer and will be up-converted and modulated for pulse compression (using polyphase coding), and will be amplified before being sent to the DU. A programmable signal-and-data processor will receive the returned radar signals from the receiver/exciter via optical data links in digitised quadrature video format. The radial velocity of detected airborne targets will be determined from the Doppler frequency via combined signals from the T/R modules. By combining these signals, the processor will modify the effective antenna sidelobe pattern to place nulls in the direction of hostile jammers. The processor will also perform coherent integration by Fast Fourier Transform that will form a Doppler filter bank. This will be followed by pulse compression, constant false alarm rate processing and binary integration. Due to all this, the Erieye’s processor will generate clutter- and interference-free position data for all targets.The two identical antennae in the DU will comprise a row of vertical slotted waveguides each with two sections that will each contain five slots providing low vertical sidelobes. By shifting the signal phase from the upper and lower parts respectively, two tilted lobes will be provided for measuring target altitudes. By adjusting the gain, a proper sidelobe in azimuth will be obtained. The Erieye will provide 270-degree airspace surveillance coverage and have an instrumental range of 450km and detection range of 350km in a dense hostile electronic warfare environment. The radar’s optimum performance (with very low sidelobes) will be over the 120° azimuthal sectors on each side of the aircraft. In addition, the Erieye will also have a secondary sea surveillance mode. For the RMAF, the Erieye will be configured for detection, tracking and height finding of airborne contacts, automatic track initiation and continuous tracking of up to 300 airborne targets, moving ground target detection and area ground mapping. In a severe EW environment the radar’s adaptive sidelobe cancelling feature will severely diminish the effects of hostile EW jamming. Pulse compression will be resorted to improve range resolution, while frequency agility will be used to avoid the negative effects resulting from hostile jamming. Doppler processing in both low- and medium-pulse repetition frequencies will be the main target detection mode amidst ground clutter, while horizontal antenna polarisation will provide an indication of the altitudes on which the tracked contracts are flying. High instantaneous bandwidth and Doppler resolution will enable the Erieye to undertake target analysis via non-cooperation recognition techniques. For detecting hostile airborne aircraft, two mean antenna scan rates of 12 degrees/second or 3 degrees/second will be used, while a scan rate of 3 degrees/second will be used for detecting terrain-hugging or sea-skimming cruise missiles. Warships will be detected using a low-PRF without Doppler filtering. An adaptive radar control mode will control beam scheduling to share the total available time between search, confirmation od detections, and track updates. The Erieye will also include an IFF transponder. Inside the AEW & C platform will be five multifunction display/processor consoles that will make up the Central Tactical System (CTS) for providing tactical data management solutions via tactical aids, cues, alerts and bookkeeping functions. The platform will also have a communications suite comprising dual HF and five sets of V/UHF radios for enabling the exchange of tactical data with friendly land, sea and air forces as well as communicating with civilian ATC networks. A Link 16 data link will provide automatic clear or secure communications channels via one of the HF radios and one dedicated UHF transceiver. The data link will be used for relaying information such as tracking cues, contact range, bearing, velocity, altitude and intercept vectors to friendly airborne combat aircraft, while the RMAF’s ground-based Sector Operations Centres (SOC) will be networked with the AEW & C platform via the Erieye Ground Interface Segment (EGIS) that will provide two-way exchange of data between the airborne AEW & C platform and ground-based SOCs.The Erieye will provide 270-degree airspace surveillance coverage and have an instrumental range of 450km and detection range of 350km in a dense hostile electronic warfare environment. The radar’s optimum performance (with very low sidelobes) will be over the 120° azimuthal sectors on each side of the aircraft. In addition, the Erieye will also have a secondary sea surveillance mode. For the PAF, the Erieye will be configured for detection, tracking and height-finding of airborne contacts, automatic track initiation and continuous tracking of up to 300 airborne targets, moving ground target detection and area ground mapping. Inside the AEW & C platform will be five multifunction display/processor consoles that will make up the Central Tactical System (CTS) for providing tactical data management solutions via tactical aids, cues, alerts and bookkeeping functions. The platform will also have a communications suite comprising dual HF and five sets of V/UHF radios for enabling the exchange of tactical data with friendly land, sea and air forces as well as communicating with civilian ATC networks. A Link 16 data link will provide automatic clear or secure communications channels via one of the HF radios and one dedicated UHF transceiver. The data link will be used for relaying information such as tracking cues, contact range, bearing, velocity, altitude and intercept vectors to friendly airborne combat aircraft, while the PAF’s ground-based Sector Operations Centres (SOC) will be networked with the AEW & C platform via the Erieye Ground Interface Segment (EGIS) that will provide two-way exchange of data between the airborne AEW & C platform and ground-based SOCs. For self-protection, the Saab 2000 AEW & C will have on board the Saab-built CIDAS-300 fully integrated defensive aids suite that will include multi-spectral optronic sensors and a HES-21 ESM suite, designed for the protection of aircraft against infra-red/laser-guided MANPADS). CIDAS-300 will in turn be fully integrated with Saab’s wingtip-mounted BOP-L lightweight chaff/flare countermeasures dispensing system. Designed from the outset as a fully integrated modular system, CIDAS-300 combines radar/laser/infra-red/ultra-violet missile approach warning and countermeasures dispensing functions in a single systems controller. Another component of CIDAS-300 will be the HES-21 ESM suite that combines the radar warning receiver and BOP-L dispenser with interferometer antenna arrays, a missile approach warning system, laser warning system, countermeasure dispensers, defensive aids controller, and a display-cum-control unit.

Now, regarding a direct comparison between the performance parameters of the Erieye and EL/W-2085 L-band active phased-array radars, the superiority of the L-band radar over an S-band radar is well-documented. The PHALCON's detection range will be far more than the Erieye for the simple reason that the IL-76 platform has a much higher service ceiling than the 31,000 feet ceiling of the Saab 2000.

he DRDO AWACS gonna have higher ceiling than this SAAB so its ok we r safe and still superior. actually speaking saab cars are no good and always stall. but the ride is really smooth and nice but not reliable. maybe their planes is no better. enough for pakistan but then

Now Macha, you see the lengths to which I go to keep patrons like you romma happy? Relax macha, I've had such data on my database for quite some time now. The defence electronics expo was small but good and was held at the KL Convention Centre behind Suria KLCC. Am going there again tomorrow.

To Anon@11:05AM: The Saab 2000 is presently the regional turboprop with the highest service ceiling and cruise speed. Also, the active noise cancellation system is very effective and I experienced this when I went on board a demo flight way back in 1996. The aircraft's engines are highly reliable and supplied by Rolls-Royce and the glass cockpit is for two-man operations. All in all, a very good, comfortable and reliable platform.

Lol, I'm in KL but only after checking KLCC's website I gotta know about that EW conference and exhibition. You're going there tomorrow? When? Not sure if I can make it though. I guess you'll be at the Tempur booth? :(

To Shaky: TEMPUR has a booth there but I will be there in the afternoon for a very short while (no more than 15 minutes). You can attend the exhibition FOC by just registering yourself as a visitor. The exhibition directory that you will then receive contains details of ALL presentations made at the conference. Nothing interesting as such, all very generic presentations, therefore spending RM1,200 for attending the conference isn't worth it.

To Anon@11:52AM: Even with electronic beam-steering no AESA of the likes of the Erieye or the one being developed by LRDE can give 360-degree coverage. At best only 270 degrees. The rest is all marketing propaganda.

Ok thank you dear. so training is done in Russia at present? The new simulators will be acquired from Russia? I heard some company in India was developing them on partnership. is it manufactured by them (forgot who)

Do read my short explanation below the attached photos and you will find the delivery schedule. The reason the Saab 2000 was chosen was because it was the only aircraft available for quick deliveries fully fitted out by Ericsson as an AEW & C platform. The only other platform--the Embraer EMB-145--would have been available by only 2011. And if a totally different airframe were chosen, the costs of systems integration and flight certification would have increased manifold and deliveries would be further delayed. ALL future orders for the Saab 2000 will be for used airframes, which Saab will refurbish before delivery to the customers.

Sorry my mistake. I based what I asked on Wikipedia which said (in PAF page) that the first one was received in April 2008. I asked based on this. But after some research apparently they will only induct the first in June 2009. So no love lost I guess for us. Thanks for the other info anyway!

A smaller AEW&C platform like the SAAB-2000/Erieye suits PAF due to geographical and budgetary limitations. A SAAB-2000 based AEW&C is much cheaper (and with better serviceability rate) in the long run with lower operating costs. The main strength of Erieye (in regards to PAF) will be its integration with Pakistan Air Defence Ground Environment. PAF has already integrated all its radars (even the older Chinese made radars have been updated with digital receivers) in one main network and Erieye will allow PAF to plug any existing radar coverage gaps during war times.

Elle macha. It's not what you're thinking. I removed them only because a Rojak Debate and AEW & C Debate do not mix well together. That's why the personal parts of the chat were deleted by me. Anyway, do read the latest updates I uploaded on the Su-30MKI. I'm sure you'll find them interesting. Stay happy macha.

The Erieye system cannot do airspace and surface surveillance simultaneously.It can only perform one function at any one time.This is a major setback for the Erieye system as it cannot perform as a national surveillnace asset for a small country like Malaysia.

Also it has blind zones forward and back of the aircraft which could be exploited by enemy fighter aircraft.

It will take a few minutes for the Eriye to get back the radar picture after the aircraft make a mid-air manoeuvre.